Page 79 - Reflect DSM (City of Des Moines, IA)

Related M1
Actions
• Lead Agency: City of Des Moines,
Development Services
• Partners: City of Des Moines,
Neighborhood Services; City of Des
Moines, Engineering; City of Des Moines,
Parks and Recreation; State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO); Iowa State
University (faculty and students); Drake
University; Greater Des Moines Public Art
Foundation
N3. Improve the functionality of the
City's preservation program
tools and processes.
Goal Goal Goal
1 2 3 – Any in-kind repair of exterior building
a. Conduct regular meetings between
department leaders to discuss
ongoing and upcoming projects
that may directly or indirectly impact
historic and cultural resources in the
City (designated and/or recognized
as important by community
members).
b. Evaluate staff's capacity to maintain
the existing historic preservation
program activity and enhance the
program's community reach, and
identify additional resources as
needed.*
c. Expand the list of Administratively
Approved Certificate of
Appropriateness (AACOA) topics to
reserve the most complicated and
detailed topics for the HPC, while also
reducing the number of applications
that make it to the HPC meeting to
reduce meeting length. Publish this list
as a matrix to the historic preservation
webpage.
d. Evaluate the demolition review
process for properties outside local
historic districts.
Goal 1: Equitable and Inclusive; Goal 2: Community-Centered; Goal 3: Strategically Integrated
* Requires ongoing work.
Administratively Approved
Certificate of Appropriateness
(AACOA)
Currently, the City of Des Moines
Administratively Approves 16 application
types, as outlined on the last page of the
COA application form. Expanding this
list, especially as more historic resources
may be designated and increase the
Historic Preservation Commission's review
load, will assist in maintaining an efficient
review process for all involved.
Additional topics to consider for
AACOAs include:
materials or features, as well as fence
repair or partial reconstruction;
– Changes to the rear facade of the
structure, or any facades not visible
from the public realm (note that a clear
definition would be needed for "public
realm");
– The replacement or repair of existing
signs, or installation of signs in historically
appropriate locations and sizes; and
– Roof mounted and mechanical
equipment that is not visible from the
public realm.
Many communities publish a matrix
to easily distinguish application types
that require administrative approval vs.
HPC approval, including St. Charles, IL;
Excelsior Springs, MO; and Portsmouth,
VA.
Adopted Plan (September 2023) 73